JetBlue unveils unique branding plan

31 March 2006

JetBlue Airways has unveiled the launch of their brand communications
program titled “Sincerely, JetBlue” designed to provide customers a forum in
which to tell their personal JetBlue stories.JetBlue customers believe
they helped build the company. And JetBlue isn’t disagreeing.

Created by marketing partner JWT
New York, the program uses multiple media channels to facilitate the
collection and distribution of these stories to the broader community. The
communications will span all potential corporate needs, from retail
advertising to new market launches to crewmember communications.

“In an industry swimming in negativity, we found that once you invited
someone to speak about JetBlue, you literally couldn’t get them to stop
talking positively about the brand,” said Rosemarie Ryan, President, JWT New
York. “It was this almost infectious energy that sparked the fundamental idea
of the campaign: JetBlue is not just a “Value” airline; it’s an airline that
offers value, service and style, and we had an inordinate amount of material
to leverage right in front of us.”
The “Sincerely, JetBlue” program is all about holding a megaphone up to
the people in the already existing JetBlue community, allowing them to share
their experiences with an ever-growing customer base.
This multimedia platform features a custom- built “story booth” which will
travel around the county to eight markets, beginning in New York this April.
Customers will be able to enter the booth (a multimedia interactive
experience) and record their “story” about JetBlue. Each story will then be
re-purposed in different forms of media including web casts and television
commercials. TV and web broadcasts will be created from the customer stories
using animation edited into the footage. Stories include a customer
recounting how a JetBlue crewmember ran off a plane to retrieve a customer’s
new iPod accidentally left in a rental car, and met the customer the next day
in a different city to personally deliver the device.
“We believe HOW people find out about JetBlue is as important as WHAT they
learn about the brand,” said Ty Montague, Co-President and Chief Creative
Officer, JWT New York. “Allowing true fans of the brand to share their
experience with one another is the best way to tell the story of JetBlue.”
JetBlue will also use non-traditional tactics when launching in a new
market. The company plans on unveiling a series of “acts” to demonstrate how
JetBlue is a different kind of airline. For example, JetBlue’s launch of
Richmond, VA on March 31, 2006 was celebrated by offering free movie admission
and JetBlue snacks at a popular local theater to showcase the company’s free
in-flight entertainment and snack offerings.
“We know that word of mouth has always rivaled advertising in how people
learn about JetBlue,” said Andrea Spiegel, Vice President, Sales and
Marketing, JetBlue Airways. “We believe this campaign is the perfect way to
marry these two powerful channels and is an effective way to support our major
growth plans in existing and new markets.”
The program will soon extend on to JetBlue flights. Customers will find
branded JetBlue postcards in their seat pockets and in highly trafficked areas
where they can write a note and send it in to JetBlue. JetBlue will then
integrate these cards into other areas of the campaign.
Radio spots for the program were developed organically as a result of
JWT’s initial research calls made to the airline’s 800 number during the
pitch. “We were struck by the inherent sincerity of the JetBlue customer
service staff,” stated Montague. “Our actual recordings of calls to customer
service as regular consumers with real questions, demonstrated a gold mine of
good will, creativity, patience and humor completely out of character for the
industry. We simply put the megaphone up to those conversations.”
Additionally, JetBlue launched a new retail look and feel, which was
inspired by the already distinctive style of their airline fleet. Print and
on-line feature signature JetBlue brand fonts and tailfin patterns and will
use iconic illustrations of different cities along with current pricing info
as part of the creative formula. Each message is a personal invitation to
JetBlue consumers, starting with a tailored-to-market greeting, for example,
“Dear New York,” and ending with “Sincerely, JetBlue.” The company is also
creating unique partnerships with a number of different on-line, off-line and
non traditional media outlets to showcase the retail work in new, exciting
ways via an unusual placement and buying strategy.——-